Bottle-filling apparatus.



Patented July 18, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I swan/ 01: now I%.DAUGHERTY F. B. DAUGHERTY.

BOTTLE FILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1915.

1,191,406. Patented Ju1y18, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' A vlll A I Ewe/Mom I 1 FLOYD B. DAUGHERTY, or VENICE, r LoRIDA.

BOTTLE FILLING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 18, 1916.

r pncatimfii iruneie, 1915. Serial No. 34,474.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FLOYD: B. DAUGHERTY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Venice, in the county of Manatee" and State of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Filling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had tothe accom-' of tubes or conduits in communication with a common source of liquid supply extending into therespective' bottles and adapted to uniformly fill the same when the support is moved with respect to the source of liquid supply.

The invention has for a more specific object to provide a bottle support mounted for vertical swinging movement and yieldingly held in its normal position, a conduit also mounted for vertical swinging movement and adapted to receive the liquid from a jug or container, said conduit being providedwith filling tubes to extend into the respective bottles to supply the liquid to the bottles to a uniform level when the bottle sup-- port and the conduit are swung downwardly from their normal positions, said supply conduit being adapted for upward swinging movement independently of the support, and means for supporting the conduit in the latter position with the filling tubes withdrawn from the bottles.

' \Vith the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts to'be hereinafter more fully described claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

- section taken on the line Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly inseca tion, of a bottle filling apparatus embodying my invention in its preferred form and showing the bottle support and the conduit in lowered position in dotted lines, and the conduit and filling tubes elevated to an inoperative position in daslr linesg l ig. 2' is a front elevation ofthe device; Fig. 3 is a 3'3 of Fig. I

' ards 6 To the base of and Fig. 4: is an enlarged section taken on tlie line4 -4 of Fig. 1.-

Referring in detail to the drawings, 5 deslgnates a suitable base upon which the spaced uprights or standards 6 are formed or suitably secured. These standards or supports have vertical arms or extensions 7 formed upon their upper ends which are connected by a transversely disposed bar or shelf 8. This horizontally disposed shelf is formed with a central opening 9 to receive the neck-11 of an inverted jug or container 10'.- To the upper ends of the arms- 7 of the frame structure,- retai'ning bands 12 are preferably connected to embrace the container 10 and serve as an additional means of support therefor. I

13 designates a hopper which is preferably constructed of sheet metal, through which the shaft 14 extends, said shaft being rigidly fixed in the side walls of the" hopper. The ends of this shaft are journaled in suitable sleeves or bearings 15 arranged in the standthis hopper 13, one end of a laterally extending pipe or conduit 16 is suitably connected and communicates with the interior thereof. The hopper l3 i-s-provided with a suitable drainage nipple, indicated at 17, said nipple being normally cl'osed by a suitable plug 18. The mouth of the inverted container 10 extends downwardly into the hopper below the upper edge thereof, and in the neck of the container, a valve member 20 is arranged. This valve member is provided with a stem 20 extending longitudinally through theneck of the container and through an inner metallic sleeve21. This sleeve is arranged in an outer rubber tube 22, the sleeve and tube being securely held together by a binding wire 23 encircling the latter. The upper end of the rubber tube 22 withinthe neck of the container, extends beyond the corresponding end of the metal sleeve 21 and is contracted in diameter, as indicated at 24. The valve member 20 'is' of inverted conical form and is adapted to seat against the end edge of this contracted portion of the rubber tube. The valve member is normally held in this closed position by means of a spring 25, one end of which is connected to said valve memher and the other end suitably attached to the outer end of the metal sleeve 21. The outer end of the valve stem 19 which pro j-ects beyond the end of the sleeve 21, is

other vessels indicated at B, which are to be filled with the liquid, is secured at its ends to the arms 28. The other ends of these arms are disposed contiguous to the inner faces of the standards 6 of the frame structure, and are equipped with suitable journal boxes 29 through which the shaft 14 extends. Upon this shaft and on each side of the hopper 13, a coil spring 30 is engaged. The outer ends of the respective springs are suitably fixed to the arms 28, as shown at 31, while the inner ends of said springs are extended as at 32 and secured at their eX- tremities to the respective standards 6.

. These springs 30 normally act to swing the arms 28 and consequently the bottle shelf or support, upwardly until the arms engage with the stop 7 members 33. These stop members are formed upon the inner ends of bolts 34 which project outwardly through vertical slots 35 in the frame standards 6. Suitable wing nuts indicated at 36, are threaded upon the outer ends of said bolts, whereby the stop members may be rigidly clamped in their adjusted positions.

The transversely disposed bottle shelf 27 has a vertical wall 37 secured to its rear edge, said wall being preferably and of slightly less height than the bottles to be filled. The liquid supply conduit 16 extends fromthe hopper 13 outwardly to a point adjacent to this rear wall 37 and is provided upon its outer end with a transversely disposed tubular head 38. To this head 38, a series of filling tubes 39 are connected, preferably six of said tubes being employed. These tubes extend forwardly and are curved intermediate of their ends over the rear wall 37 and then downwardly projected, as at 40, such downwardly projecting forward ends of the filling tubes being adapted for insertion into the respective bottles or vessels B. At the bend in the filling tubes 39, the same are connected by a cross bar or plate 41 which is soldered or otherwise secured upon said tubes. A ver-- tically disposed rod 42 is secured to the rear vertical wall 37 of the bottle shaft or support and at its upper end terminating in a rearwardly projecting hook 43, the bill or terminal of which is extended forwardly in advance of the rod 42. Upon the center of the connecting bar or plate 41, between the several filling tubes, a lever 44 is fulcrumed intermediate of its ends, as at 45. This lever bears at one end against the vertical rod 42. This rod has a certain amount of inherent resiliency so that when the forward end of the lever 44 is forced downwardly, the rod 41 will be sprung, and the upper end thereof deflected rearwardly from its normal position when the conduit 16 is swung upwardly and the filling tubes 39 are removed from the bottles. When the plate 41 reaches a position opposite the hook 43 on the upper end of the rod 42, pressure 7 upon the lever 44 is released so that the rod 42, in returning to its normal position, will cause the hook 43 to engage upon the rear edge of the plate 41 and thus sustain the conduit and filling tubes in their elevated orinoperative positions, as shown in dash lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

In addition to the adjustable stops 33, I also provide an additional stop device which consists of the fixed vertically disposed bar 46 secured upon the base 5, and the adjustable upper bar 47. The lower end of this bar is provided with a slot 48 to receive a bolt 49 fixed in the stationary bar 46, a suitable clamping nut 50 being threaded upon said bolt for engagement with the adjustable bar 47 to secure the same in itsv adjusted position. The upper end of this adjustable bar has an inwardly projecting lug 51 formed thereon, with which an upwardly and forwardly projecting lip 52 on the shelf 27 is adapted to contact.

In the operation of the apparatus, the bottles to .be filled are placed upon the supporting shelf 27, and the outer ends 40 of the filling tubes lowered into the respective bottles. The bottle support is now forced downwardly against the action of the springs 30, the outer end of the conduit 16 having the head 38 thereon also moving downwardly by gravity with the bottle support until the same reaches the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1. The liquid will now begin to flow from the jug or container through the hopper and the conduit 16 and from the several filling tubes 39 into the bottles B. After the flow of the liquid has been started, downward pressure upon the support is released so that the springs 30 will act to immediately return the same to its normal position, the arms 28 engaging the stops 33 and the forward edge of the bottle shelf engaging the adjustable stop 47. The liquid will continue to flow into the bottles until the level of the liquid in the bottles is on a line with the level of the liquid in the hopper and the lower end of the metal sleeve 21. It is understood that the liquid forms a seal to prevent overflow of the hopper, and as soon as the liquid level in the hopper reaches the tube 21, flow of the liquid from the container into the hopper, will cease. In this manner, it will be seen that the several bottles upon the merged movable support are uniformly filled. The springs 30 are sufficiently strong to sustain the filled bottles and the shelf or support therefor in the full line position shown in Fig. 1. After the bottles have thus-been filled, the operator lifts the conduit 16 and the filling tubes 39 by grasping the bar or plate 41. At the same time,- the outer end of the lever -14 is pressed downwardly so that the upper end of the holding rod 42 is sprung rearwardly, as above stated, for engagement over the rear edge of the plate 41, whereby the filling tubes and the conduit will be held and supported in air inoperative position.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, manner of operation, and several advantages of my improved bottle filling apparatus may be clearly and fully understood. It will be seen that I have produced a very simple and effective mechanism for expeditiously filling a large number of bottles or other vessels, the device being particularly designed for use by druggists in the filling of bottles with perfumery extracts or other liquids. It is apparent that any desired number of the bottles or vessels may be arranged upon the supporting shelf 27 and the capacity of the liquid receiving hopper varied accordingly. The apparatus is also susceptible of considerable modification in the construction and arrangement of its several parts.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination of an oscillatory fluid receiving hopper, a conduit connected to said hopper, fluid supply means having its discharge end disposed within said hopper, a receptacle support also mounted for swinging movement, filling tubes connected to the conduit to supply the liquid to the several receptacles on the support, said conduit and the support being adapted for swinging movement in unison to permit the liquid to flow through the conduit and the' filling tubes into the receptacles, and means for returning the support and conduit to their normal positions.

2. The combination of an oscillatory liquid receiving hopper, a conduit connected thereto, liquid supply means having its discharge end disposed within said hopper, a receptacle support also mounted for swinging movement, a spring yieldingly holding said support in its normal position, filling tubes connected to the conduit to supply the liquid to the several receptacles, said support and the conduit being adapted for swinging movement in unison to cause the flow of the liquid from the hopper through said filling tubes into the receptacles, and an adjustable stop to limit the return movement of the support under the action of said spring whereby the several receptacles are uniformly filled to' a desired level.

3 The combination of an oscillatory hopper, a conduit connected to said hopper, fluid supply means having its discharge end disposed within said hopper,- support mounted for swinging movement, a spring yieldingly normal position, filling tubes connected to the conduit to, supply the liquid to the several receptacles, said support and theconduit being adapted for unitary swinging movement in one direction to cause the liquid to flow from the hopper through the con duit and filling tubes into the receptacles, and adjustable stop devices for engagement by the support to limit the return movement thereof under the action of said spring whereby the several receptacles are uniformly filled to a desired'level'.

4. The combination of an oscillatory hopper, a conduit connected to said hopper, fluid supply means having its discharge end disposed within said hopper, a receptacle support mounted for swinging movement, a spring yieldingly holdingthe support in a normal position, filling tubes connected to the conduit to supply the liquid tothe several receptacles, said support and the conduit being adapted for unitary swinging movement in one direction to cause theliquid to flow fromthe hopper through the conduit and filling tubes into the receptacles, adjustable stop devices for engagement by the support to limit the return movement thereof under the action of said spring whereby the several receptacles are uniformly filled to a desired level, and means for supporting the conduit and filling tubes in an elevated inoperative position with respect to said receptacle support.

5. The combination of an oscillatory hopper, a conduit connected to said hopper, fluid supply means having its discharge end disposed Within said hopper, a receptacle support mounted for swinging movement, a spring yieldingly normal position, filling tubes connected to the conduit to supply the liquid to the several receptacles, said support and the conduit being adapted for unitary swinging movea receptacle holding the support in a ment in one direction to cause the liquid to flow from the hopper through the conduit and filling tubes into the receptacles, adjustable stop devices for engagement by the support to limit the return movement thereof under the action of said spring whereby the several receptacles are uniformly filled to a desired level, a bar connecting the several filling tubes, and means carried by the receptacle support to engage said bar and sustain the conduit and filling tubes in an elevated inoperative position with the receptacle and the support.

movement in one direction to cause the liquid,

to flow from the hopper through the conduit and filling tubes into the receptacles, adjustable stop devices for engagement by the support to limit the return movement thereof under the action of said spring whereby the several receptacles are uniformly filled to a desired level, a bar connecting the filling tubes, a yieldable element mounted upon the receptacle support, said conduit and the filling tubes being adapted to be swung upwardly to remove the filling tubes from the receptacles, and manually operable means on said bar to engage said yieldable element and cause the same to cooperate with said bar and sustain the conduit and the filling tubes in such elevated positions.

7. The combination of an oscillatory hopper, a conduit connected to said hopper, fluid supply means having its discharge end disposed within said hopper, a receptacle support mounted for swinging movement, a spring yieldingly holding the support in a normal position, filling tubes connected to the conduit to supply the liquid to the several filling tubes into the receptacles, adjustable stop devices for engagement by the support to limit the return movement thereof under the action of said spring whereby the several receptacles are uniformly filled to a desired level, a yieldable rod mounted upon the sup port and provided with a hook, a bar connecting the filling tubes, said conduit and filling tubes being adapted for upward swinging movement with respect to the support to remove the filling tubes from the receptacles, and a manually operable lever mounted upon said bar and co-acting with the resilient rod to cause the hook thereon to engage said bar and sustain the conduit and filling tubes in their elevated positions.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FLOYD B. DAUGHERTY.

lVitnesses CLAUDE T. CURRY, MABEL A. CURRY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

